I read a blog post the other day which was in essence complaining about the state of bilingual education that currently exists in the United States. The article suggested that bilingual education is going from bad to worse. For example, many school districts are dropping their foreign language programs altogether. The argument was that a loss of these programs is leading to a monolingual society.
Well, this is probably the case, but I don’t think the problem is as grave as this author wanted his readers to believe.
I do agree that our foreign language education still has a long way to go, but when compared to other countries, I would say that we’re about in the same situation.
In the travels I have made to other countries around the world, I have noticed that foreign language education is not much than it is here. One of the biggest faults of this instruction in other countries is that it is mostly limited to English instruction. At least here in the United States there is usually a choice of foreign languages to choose from. In my high school, for example, we could choose Spanish, German, French, or even Chinese. I have never seen that kind of choice in schools in other countries. Students are forced (or at least strongly encouraged) to study English.
One of the positive aspects of foreign language education in other countries is that they usually include more than one or two years of study. However, even after that, most students’ language skills in English are probably on par with foreign language skills of students here after a couple of years studying.
The one exception to this are many of the countries in Europe. But I believe that the main reason that foreign language education in Europe is fairly good is because non- native languages aren’t necessarily foreign. Each surrounding country speaks a different language, and that close proximity helps develop the foreign language skills of the people.
So the next time someone you know starts complaining about the state of affairs in foreign language education in the United States, remember that while it can always be better, it’s not as bad as it could be.
By: Clint Tustison
Is Bilingual Education in the United States As Bad As They Say it Is?
March 11th, 2010 by admin No comments »Special Education Acronyms – What Do All Those Letters Mean?
March 10th, 2010 by admin No comments »
Do you sometimes wonder what some of the Acronyms in special education mean? Do the acronyms make your head spin? This article will discuss common special education acronyms and what they mean. This will make it easier for you to actively participate in your child with disabilities education.
1. FAPE: stands for Free Appropriate Public Education. Each child has the right under IDEA to receive a free appropriate public education.
2. IDEA: stands for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; which is the federal law that applies to special education.
3. IDEA 2004: This is the federal law that was reauthorized in 2004. If you see this in an article, it usually means that something was changed in IDEA, by the reauthorization in 2004.
4. LEA: stands for the local educational agency, which is your local school district.
5. SEA: stands for the state educational agency, which is your states board of education.
6. IEP: stands for the Individual Educational Plan, which must be developed for every child that receives special education services.
7. LRE: stands for Least Restrictive Environment. LRE means that children with disabilities need to be educated in the least restrictive environment, in which they can learn. LRE starts at the regular classroom, and becomes more restrictive.
8. NCLB: stands for the No Child Left Behind Act.
9. IEE’s: stands for an Independent Educational Evaluation. These are initiated and paid for by parents, to help determine their child’s disability or educational needs.
10. IEE’s at Public Expense: stands for an IEE where the school district pays for it. There are rules that apply to this, that you must learn before requesting an IEE at public expense. Many special education personnel try and do things that are not allowed under IDEA, so you need to educate yourself.
11. ASD: stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder, which some school districts use in their paperwork.
12. ADD: stands for Attention Deficit Disorder.
13. ADHD: stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
14. PWN: stands for Prior Written Notice. Parents must be given PWN when the school district wants to change things in the child’s IEP. (such as eligibility, change services, refuse to change services etc.).
15. ABA: stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis that is an educational treatment for Autism.
16. SID: stands for Sensory Integration Disorder. A lot of children with Autism have difficulty with sensory integration.
17. SPD: stands for Sensory Processing Disorder which is the same as above, but some people in the special education field, call it different names.
By understanding the acronyms used by special education personnel, you can be a better advocate for an appropriate education for your child.
By: JoAnn Collins
